


by the grace of griffins

by caprinaen



Series: fire in your eyes, fire in your heart [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Smut, Takes place right after the Stormblood MSQ, miqo'te warrior of light - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:22:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25439905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caprinaen/pseuds/caprinaen
Summary: Ala Mhigo is liberated. Lyse and Elodie pace the halls of the palace--war-torn as it is--and reflect.(Or: The Warrior of Light works another miracle. Lyse is grateful she's on their side.)
Relationships: Lyse Hext/Warrior of Light
Series: fire in your eyes, fire in your heart [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1842616
Kudos: 10





	by the grace of griffins

**Author's Note:**

  * For [faerieheart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/faerieheart/gifts).



Liberty or death. Those were the words of the Ala Mhigan Resistance, and the creed they had been prepared to fight to the end for. And death had taken its due, for a certainty…amongst the bodies of the dead was the Crown Prince of Garlemald, his throat cut by his own blade.

Lyse sighed, leaning across the stone railings of the Royal Menagerie. She would’ve preferred that the monster in a man’s skin known as Zenos had been taken into custody instead so he could face a proper trial and punishment for his crimes, but she’d take this. This was more than good enough.

 _Freedom_. Freedom at last for the war-torn nation of Ala Mhigo.

The winds blowing through the Loch were always chilly at night, but the festivities in the Ala Mhigan Quarter down below defied the cold. Bonfires burned, music played, and the clamor of voices could be heard even from the top of the Royal Palace, soft and deep as distant thunder. Lyse would return to the celebration soon enough.

For the moment…peace.

Her eyes closed, the breeze stirring her hair. The griffin-emblazed banner of her home flapped and unfurled across a dozen different spires. That climatic battle with Shinryu only half a day prior seemed like a distant memory.

The pitter-patter of footsteps stirred Lyse from her thoughts. She turned, expecting to see a guard or a messenger or something of the sort—

“Elodie!” Lyse smiled brightly. “What brings you up here?”

The Warrior of Light, as she was known, approached with a languid stretch and yawn. It always amused Lyse how she seemed to go from relaxed to explosive with energy in the blink of an eye; it reminded her a bit of herself.

“Looking for you!” Elodie chirped, mismatched eyes shining in the moonlight, peculiarly reflected in that Keeper way. “You just vanished from the party suddenly…M’Naago said she saw you sneak off into the castle, though.”

“Of course, I can’t hide from M’Naago.” Lyse shook her head, fond. “I just wanted a few moments to collect my thoughts…it’s been a busy couple of hours…”

Heaving a deep sigh, Elodie looked for a moment at the spot where Zenos had met his end. “You can say that again…Am I bothering you?”

Lyse smiled once more. Gentler. “Not at all.” She opened her arms to Elodie, and she dashed into them, snuggling close as Lyse brought her against her. Warm, breathing, _safe_. She thanked the Twelve every time Elodie successfully returned from one of her harrowing battles. Against a primal and the Garlean prince both...truly, the radiance of her strength knew no bounds when it came to protecting those she loved.

“What’re you thinking about?” Elodie asked, her ears twitching beneath Lyse’s chin.

Reclining upon the railing with Elodie’s weight against her, Lyse shrugged one shoulder. “How…indomitable you are? Am I using that word correctly?”

Elodie giggled. “You are?”

“Well, it’s true! _Two_ nations liberated and yet more primals notched on your belt…Thank the gods you’re on our side.” Lyse kissed her head. “…I can’t thank you enough for coming with me on this journey, Elodie. I really don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”

The warmth of Elodie’s tail trailed down Lyse’s back. “You don’t have to thank me for that. Ala Mhigo is my home too. And even if it wasn’t, battling the Empire, traveling around—it’s all part of being a Scion!”

Lyse chuckled. “Cute _and_ humble…”

“Stooop…” Elodie pushed her playfully.

A comfortable silence descended upon them and Lyse was content to let it stretch on. The mountains of Gyr Abania ranged far into the distance, disappearing into the horizon, whilst the gorge just over the sides of the palace’s grounds plunged so deep that the bottom was invisible to the naked eye. She felt incredibly small in that moment, with the stars blanketing the heavens above and the breadth of nature all around. Life had a habit of pushing on despite the many hardships it faced. The Calamity, the Empire, Shinryu—none of it had succeeded in stomping out the resilient people of Eorzea.

“Yda and Papalymo would be proud,” Elodie said, soft.

Lyse closed her eyes. “I hope so.”

They stayed like that, for a time.

~***~

It was approaching the twelfth bell of the night and Lyse supposed they had better go in before they ended up catching a cold, of all things. The Lochs could be capricious at times, and its nighttime chill could swiftly yield to thunderstorms if Ixion decided to gallop overhead. Lyse held the door open for Elodie, and together they began the descent down through the palace.

The bodies of the fallen had long since been removed, and any stains had been tidied up by magicked brooms and mops. Even so, there was something somber about the hallways that had carried the brunt of the attacks. Scars from weapons and Magitek armor marred the ancient stone, with ceremonial tapestries seared and dusted by fiery blasts and bits of shrapnel. The highest tiers of the Royal Palace were relatively untouched, however, looking as calm and pristine as the day before the Eorzean Alliance’s assault upon the capital.

Lyse stepped over a trail of wires, their underbellies glowing blue with ceruleum. Her nose wrinkled. “I can’t wait to get this stuff removed.”

“Same.” Elodie looked about. “The Garleans messed up the inside of Doma Castle too…though I guess that’s the least of its problems right now.”

Remembering Hien’s grand plan to decimate his own palace if it meant routing the invaders, Lyse gave a wry smile. “Right.”

They took the long way around, always looking for more time to spend together when they could afford it. Lyse ran her hand along the stone face of a griffin, its etched eyes rimmed with Ananta-wrought gold.

“Ala Mhigo sure loves its griffins,” Elodie said, stopping to admire a long tapestry depicting snowy white True Griffins in flight across the mountaintops.

“Of course. They’ve been the symbol for Ala Mhigo since its founding.” Lyse joined her. “I told you before back in the Shroud how they stand for ferocity and independence.”

“And unity, right?”

“Right. The most important bit if you ask me.”

“I thought the most important bit was the fact that they chose a mate for life?” Elodie’s eyes glimmered teasingly.

Lyse pulled her into a side hug, kissing between her ears. “That too! Devotion, and all that.”

Their winding path eventually took them to a balcony that overlooked a small series of circular gardens. Leaning over the sides, the pair noticed legions upon legions…of flags.

“Oh,” said Elodie.

It was a memorial to those that had perished during the reclamation effort. Gridanian standards, Lominsan banners, Ul’dahn ribbons, and Ishgardian pendants all ringed the variety of offerings left in memory to those that were with them no longer.

Lyse was grateful that, for once, she didn’t have to say goodbye to another loved one. Yet another friend. The retaking of the Ala Mhigan palace had gone smoothly, somehow, against all the odds, and it was all because of—

“Lyse?”

Elodie squeaked as she found herself being propelled down the hallway by Lyse, who promptly opened a door to a sitting room and closed it—by pushing Elodie against the back of it, stomach first, her lips on Elodie’s neck.

“Lyse?!” Elodie said again, louder, as her tail swept up Lyse’s stomach.

She didn’t reply right away. She peppered a few more kisses there upon her neck and up to the ends of her ears before resting her forehead against Elodie’s shoulder.

“Sorry…I’m just…” A breathless laugh. “I’m just _so_ grateful that you’re here. You have no idea how happy I am that you’re safe. That we made it through.”

Elodie had the presence of mind to turn the lock upon the door. She distantly remembered the Mad King had installed locks all over his palace in his ever-increasing paranoia of being backstabbed by his subjects, and she supposed it worked out in their favor.

“Lyse…” Elodie dropped her gaze, warm and blushing. “You know I’ll always—eep!”

That kiss to the back of her neck was hotter than before. Lyse pulled Elodie’s gown off, pushing her shirt up so that it was bunched around her upper body. Elodie was flustered and perplexed by this until Lyse’s fingers began to trace the tattoo that twined up and around the scar Zenos had left during their first encounter.

Elodie bit her lip as Lyse pressed a kiss to the top flower…and then another…and then another…making her way down, causing Elodie to wriggle a little from the sensation of it.

“Elodie.”

The _I love you_ was audible in those words, in the way she whispered her name, her voice caressing the sounds. She made her way down Elodie’s lower back, kissing along the length of the tattoo and its scar, Elodie’s tail hanging loosely off of Lyse’s neck. Elodie shivered.

No more teasing, now. Lyse bit one of the flowers, sucking softly, and Elodie’s fingers curled into her palms. She heard Lyse chuckle.

“C’mere…”

Lyse took her hand and guided her to one of the red, plush sofas in the room. She tipped her onto it, straddling her hips, gazing down with warmth in her eyes, fire in her heart.

“Got some more time to spare?” Lyse asked, brushing some of her hair behind her ears. That familiar, teasing tone made Elodie smile in turn. It was as old as their friendship, old as their love for one another.

“Hmm, I suppose?”

Lyse exhaled a quiet sound of amusement, leaning in—

Elodie grabbed her, flipping them over, fluid as a snake. The monk move was old and practiced by now, well-worn as her favorite shoes. Lyse gave a soft _oof!_ Elodie simply smoothed her shirt down.

“What—?!”

Kissing her quiet, Elodie replied, “Just let me have this, okay? I want to spoil _you_ for once.” She framed Lyse’s face in her hands, leaning in to kiss her, soft and wanting, in a way that made Lyse sigh despite herself. “You did it…You found your own path. You should feel proud of yourself. Elated, even! So, let me congratulate you?”

Lyse was blushing as red as her dress, turning her head with a bashful look upon her face. “…A-All right,” she mumbled, shy.

“Good.”

Elodie twisted her fingers into Lyse’s hair, pulling the ponytail undone by its golden clasp. She laid it on the table beside them and then captured her lips with her own.

Something about their kisses always felt… _right_. Like some sort of growing tension inside of her always came undone once they were together like this. Elodie began sweet and languorous, lulling Lyse into a sense of calm security, before she suddenly pressed her fangs into her bottom lip and made it _much_ hungrier. Lyse’s hands came up to grab her arms and Elodie’s tail brushed up and down against anywhere it could reach Lyse’s bare skin, making her shiver from the feeling of it.

Elodie broke the kiss to target a favorite weak spot—the area where Lyse’s neck met her shoulder. All it took was one press from her fangs and Lyse gave the sweetest little moan. Purring in delight, Elodie made _certain_ to leave a mark before continuing along her shoulder, taking the straps of Lyse’s top down and lowering it as she went, exposing more and more of her…

Gods, she was so pretty. Beautiful, even. Elodie was always gripped by this overwhelming sense of desire that was downright _dangerous_ when it came to Lyse.

“Elodie…” Lyse’s fingers were in her hair, tangled up in her braids, and she only purred louder.

Elodie continued to kiss her. Up around the curves of her breasts, right over her heart, down to her stomach, which she nipped lightly. When Lyse arched with a gasp, Elodie gave a mischievous giggle.

“Oh, _that’s_ never a good sign,” Lyse gasped.

She didn’t reply, but Elodie didn’t refute her either. She was careful and methodical about how she removed Lyse’s clothing, dragging the edges of her nails along her girlfriend’s hips, teasing her more and more with every movement. A bite here, a kiss there…when Lyse’s grip began to tighten, she knew that it’d not be long before she was ready.

Elodie moved back up to look at Lyse once she was done. Lyse gazed at her in turn, blue eyes hazy, one arm over her head. Her hair was spread around her, long enough to spill over the sides of the couch. Elodie’s tail swayed like a coeurl preparing to pounce.

“Hey, Lyse?” Elodie touched her lips to her temple, her cheek, the corners of her mouth.

“Wh-What is it…?”

Hearing her so breathless made Elodie grin. “It’s sort of silly, but full glad am I that I can see your face all the time now…? It’s beautiful. _You’re_ beautiful. Especially your eyes…”

As she spoke, Elodie slid her nails down from Lyse’s chest, trailing further and further…Her ears pricked up at that telltale hitch in Lyse’s breathing.

“H-Hah…That’s funny…I was always glad to hide my eyes…” She shrugged one shoulder, one hand still playing with Elodie’s hair. “They’re a different color than Yda’s was…”

“Promise me you’ll never hide them again?”

Lyse blinked, but her answering smile was radiant. “I promise…Our eyes will always meet from now on.”

She purred in delight—and then used that distraction to swipe a finger between Lyse’s legs in one deep, quick stroke. Lyse jumped, making a fist in Elodie’s braids, and Elodie laughed!

“E-Elodie--!”

“I knooow,” she replied, singsong, a playful echo of Lyse’s own words from times before. She laid on top of her, closer now, skin to skin, heart to heart. Maybe it was her imagination, but she swore they were pounding in sync.

Lyse wasn’t the type to take things slow, not unless it was asked for, so Elodie decided to give her what she wanted. She curled more of her fingers in, pressing harder, deeper, longer in response to the soft gasps Lyse made. Elodie couldn’t resist just a little more teasing, slowing down when Lyse began to arch her hips again, kissing her whine of complaint away.

“Y-You deserve it, you know…?” Elodie said into her ear, voice low and smooth in that purring way only Miqo’te could do. Lyse pulled her closer in response. “You really do…You’re so much more than you think, and I’m so happy you’re finally seeing that…!”

Lyse’s eyes were shut tight, but she opened them at that, startled and touched and looking more than a little sentimental by it all.

“You’re worth the world to me, Lyse…”

A faster pace, now. So fast. But even in the throes of Lyse’s mounting desperation to move, she made sure to keep their gazes locked. Elodie’s ears flattened. Lyse probably wanted to say something, but Elodie kissed her again, whispering against her lips.

“Don’t close your eyes.”

Lyse poorly stifled a moan.

“You promised, right?”

She did, and she kept them open even as Elodie pressed down long and hard in one specific spot, dragging Lyse over the edge, into a gorge as deep as the Ala Mhigan depths. Lyse’s eyes stretched open wide, lighting up with such ecstasy that Elodie’s breath was taken away.

_They’re like stars…_

Elodie helped her ride it out, biting her shoulder once more and making her groan louder than she likely intended. When Lyse’s breath steadied a bit, Elodie just laid atop of her, closing her eyes to let Lyse know she could as well, purring away.

Lyse’s fingers soon found their way back into her hair, but this time the motion was comforting. Soothing.

“Elodie…”

“Hmm?”

She laughed quietly. “How are we going to get out of this without anyone knowing?”

Elodie stretched, arching her tail a bit. “That’s a problem for future Lyse and Elodie…”

Lyse gave a scoff of amusement, nuzzling her, pulling her ever closer. “I guess you’re right? I love you, Elodie.”

“Love you too, Lyse…”

**Author's Note:**

> Again, posted at the request of my darling--this was written for her birthday!  
> You can find art of her Warrior of Light, Elodie, and various other lovely things she draws [at her Twitter](https://twitter.com/faerieko)!


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